xmarksx

No to your last question unless yo purchase a high priced hotel room from O.

 

As to the airline cannot be sure which airline they will book and it could be less than real PE

 

As to the 270 day out booking that is for booking a deviation. If you don't deviate you won't find out what they have booked for you until about 75 days prior to departure

 

As to flying out of St. Louis isn't an air gateway so extra cost for using St. Louis plus no foreign airline true PE FLIGHTS FROM THERE. closest air gateway other than Chicago is New York.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

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It helps, thanks. Guess I will be paying the deviation fee just to make sure. Again, thanks!

We are about to pull the trigger on a September 8th booking Barcelona to Barcelona and wanted to jump onto this thread with a couple of questions.

Currently planning on taking the Oceania air option, not the credit, and upgrading to premium economy. We will most likely fly from Chicago O'Hare but can travel to St. Louis or another departure city if needed (we are two hours from Chicago).

I ran some dummy bookings for July 2017 just to see what premium economy was available, looks like Air Canada and Lufthansa.

Certainly understand no one will have a definitive answer but do you think they will book a true premium economy seat, rather than a seat on American which is not true premium economy?

If I have read the prior threads correctly, you cannot book until 270 days out and we "might" be able to book a flight without deviation fee for a flight arriving a day prior to the sailing. Correct?

LOL, I'm such a Celebrity newbie. The port days were reservable in another area. Anywho, we did book that second sea day in the Alcoves. Gonna be a great trip!

Sandc4e, I have never been sorry that I booked one on a sea day. I have been sorry that I waited to book and then missed out because they were later sold out.

Rocky, I have done both and prefer the eastern itinerary, however, I think the western might be a better fit if none of you have visited Mexico. My reasons -

We sailed with our 17 and 21 year old daughters on a similar Western itinerary and their #1 spot was Grand Cayman and the Stingray City excursion. We have been to Mexico but they still enjoyed shopping Cozumel but there are good beaches to be had there too. Key West should provide some good snorkeling. Costa Maya should also be a good snorkeling spot or beach day but I cannot say for sure because we did not stop there.

It is closed, we were on reflection this month. They have turned it into a photography/portrait studio.

Nike, your best option is Aqua Spa Café but there is an upcharge for those protein shakes unless you have an ultimate dining package. They do mix them directly in front of you. They have way more than this on board and a bunch of other ingredients:

file:///C:/Users/Mark/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/IE/K3VC2UX0/AquaSpa_Cafe_Menu_Breakfast.pdf

You can type at whatever speed you wish but my comment was not made to you.

 

I know when there is a deal or a steal and $20 bucks would not entice me to change my mind about booking or not....

 

However some might think that the "thick" does not refer to skin... :D

Nice!

Agreed, cost benefit for the individual. Like people who bemoan guys in Vegas who will refuse to spend an extra $10/$15 on a nicer dinner in order to take advantage of a marginal loss-leader meal at $9.99. Only to later drop a load of cash playing dice. I shrug my shoulders, if it makes them happy.

For me, I love the thrill of the hunt and if a deal arrived that fit within my travel parameters where I could save 20 bucks, I would jump on it. My value comes from thinking I got the very best deal possible. Some might say, not worth my time or effort and I am in no position to disagree with them.

What I don't understand, the incessant complaining from a cadre of posters. Many have not sailed Celebrity in quite some time, or others who throw out the empty "I am not sailing Celebrity any more" threat and some who just don't seem to be very happy with much at all. For them I will quote Bo - bon voyage

The Prestige package would run approx $600 pp for a 10 day cruise x 2 =$1200.

less the $800 OBC you still will owe $400

 

if you take the House Select package as your CHOICE it will be $20 pp pd to upgrade to the Prestige package = $200 pp for a 10 day cruise x 2 will be $400

so it pretty much costs the same in the end ;)

Thanks LHT! I have read a good number of your posts and was hopeful you would see this. You have a great night.

Giving serious thought to Sailing O next August, 10 day cruise, and have sailed Celebrity three times. I have read several threads covering the beverage package and gratuities. If I book a veranda or concierge with the current promo I have the option to choose between the free shore excursions, or the beverage package, or the $800 stateroom credit.

We are going to purchase a Prestige Select package, no debate about that.

Not going to consider the shore excursion offer.

Am I missing something? The beverage package offered in the promo is House Select, just under $400 pp for a 10 night.

As we intend to purchase the Prestige Package our best option would be to take the $800 credit and use it to offset the Prestige cost when we board, right? Save a whopping $1 :eek:

Perhaps I have thicker skin but I didn't discern any snarky comments directed towards you. I did read some folks respectfully disagreeing but certainly no one asking you to go away. Your final statement seems to indicate you would prefer they go away unless they agree with you.

A brand new member with a question that almost seems to beg an answer, in order to make a statement.

Have had the same experience- However we have had the alcove attendant serve our lunch when we ordered it from the Porch. Also not sure if this was already mentioned, as I am not going to re-read, but the attendant also brings you a fruit and cheese platter in the afternoon, upon request, and you will have bottled water in a cooler throughout the day. We tend to tip about $10 to $20 per day at the end of the week if we have for the week- depending upon the level of service and our usage.

 

Enjoy.

Cruise, we finished our Reflection cruise last week and on port days they had discounted Alcoves to $79 and were including lunch from The Porch. Sea days were booked solid and, of course, no Porch lunch.

To those reading who have never booked an Alcove, the $79 is not common same for The Porch lunch inclusion. It was, I assume, just for that sailing because they were trying to rent them out.

Actually while they are assigned, if you get to the lawn grill around 9:00 am the attendant arrives. I like to be on the non-smoking side of the ship and prefer the one closer to the Lawn grill and the porch- If not available, the one next to it- However no bad location.

+1

Go down at 9:00 and talk with the attendant, who will also be working at Lawn Club. Each alcove has a plate in front where the attendant slips a piece of paper with your name. Some cruisers are repeat customers who know the attendant and have set locations. However, I have always had good luck getting a center one even if he has already set the names up. Some people don't care as much about location.

Anybody know if they're restored the muesli cart to Blu? I don't believe that's offered in Luminae. That would be worth a detour to Blu if it's back.

 

Happy, it was alive and well on the Reflection last week. We detoured to Blu for a couple of breakfasts and they were using it.

Russ makes some really good points about floor to ceiling windows and the nice quiet hallway. We were in 4111, the end of the hallway room by the entry door, and only twice did I hear the entry door close during an 11 night cruise. Plus, the hallway is wider than the normal cabin walkways. Also, we never heard any noise from the adjacent suite. We sailed an Aft corner suite on Reflection in January (1214) and loved it. The Signature was just so much better that it spoilt us.

The Signature Suite is about 45 Sq Ft larger than a CS and is located in an exclusive hallway that is restricted by SeaPass to the Signature Suites and the Reflection Suite.

 

The ceiling are very tall and gives an impression of a lot more space.

 

When I sailed in one on last years TA the Free Dining and Room Bar were not included but they did toss in a Classic Beverage Package gratis.

 

If the price is close I would take the SS but if more than $1,000 I would probably sail in a CS.

 

We have sailed in S-Class CS's a number of times and like them for the exception that they (as well as Signature Suite) do not have dining tables so the butler will serve either on the Balcony or on the Cocktail Table in the living room.

We just finished our sailing in a Signature and agree with your assessment. For me the biggest benefits were the extra amount of room (no larger than a nice sized hotel room) the unlimited dining and exclusive location on deck 14. It was also nice to walk outside your room to Aqua Spa Café for coffee, or something else in the morning. We also loved the free minibar and my wife had it stocked with diet Cokes. Like you, if the cost difference was $1000 or less, I would choose Signature over the others.

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This article has the ad embedded

Looks like to save $400. you are flying in the day of your cruise and arriving at port around 2pm. Good luck.

 

When we used Choice Air for our cruise last month we did a couple of things.

First, we booked 9 months ahead of time.

We also looked at various flights and times on our own using google air.

When we went to Choice Air site we saw over 50 different choices. We knew our price limit and the flights we wanted. When we called choice Air to book we asked for the speciic flights. I save $250 and my sister ,flying from another city, saved $300. by booking though Choice air instead of booking directly with the specific airline. We would have gotten even cheaper price but did not like the times or the connections of the other options.

We flew in two night before the cruise and stayed one night after cruise.

We liked using Choice Air for our trip this summer. It did save us some money.

Looks like you did exactly what we did for our upcoming cruise, a little research. Also, I agree with the earlier poster about the airlines changing the flights/schedule and Choice having nothing to do with it.

I edited afterwards. I should have been clearer and it was a fair question to ask.

Pavovsky, I do appreciate what you have to say because you have sailed recently, have cogent concerns and do not appear to be wanting to keep bringing up these complaints over, and over. Thanks for the nice comment about my upcoming trip, I am really looking forward to it.

I do believe some who complain are working against their own best interest. As someone recently pointed out, many of the complaints are pretty outlandish and walk the line of being petty. I shake my head whenever someone says that the food in Oceanview/MDR/Tuscan... was inedible. If I were in customer service and someone hit me with that complaint I would realize there was really no way to please them. If those complaining were truly trying to impact leadership within RCI/Celebrity they might do so with a more rational approach. They also might realize that it is doubtful RCI/Celebrity leadership peruse these boards. Do they use social media as a tool to gauge satisfaction? I am sure they do (at least we do where I work). However, it is but one communication avenue and I wouldn't oversell importance.

I suggest you look at the reviews from the Med cruises this year. It looks like our experience is more the norm.

 

I guess the food offering and staffing on the Caribbean cruises is superior and akin to what we experienced last year or perhaps the cost cutting has only just commenced. Only time will tell when you cruise again on the Equinox.

Interesting, I have been reading every Med cruise review for the last couple of months (leaving August 29th) and have not noticed a negative trend. Please don't bother to respond with negative review links, it would be a waste of time. I did read your recent comments though.

The Haven restaurant for NCL suites is open port days for lunch, you can even eat outside by the pool which can be nice. The Haven does breakfast better than Luminae (which I hope will improve).

 

At the price of a suite on Celebrity eating lunch in the Oceanview cafe is such a poor experience compared to eating in Luminae (on food, service and environment). For similar price/day on Oceania or Viking you get an excellent lunch (as good or better than Luminae) everyday.

Float, I tried to book a Haven suite for the last two cruises and both times Celebrity beat them for price and other value items by a wide margin.

Not going to speak for Cunard but am going to guess that their price is far greater than the entry level suites for Celebrity.

This topic was the source of much consternation when they shut it down port days and Celebrity/RCI did not change their decision. I see no indication that new complaints will now influence them to reopen it on port days.

This is the part I don't understand. :confused: If you are never sailing with Celebrity again, why hang around the area of Cruise Critic dedicated to something you are not doing any more? QUOTE]

 

Exactly. Cannot guess at the number of times I have asked that question about some folks posting.

It is part of the cruise experience I sometimes enjoy, and there are no dogs playing poker hanging on my walls

Thank you for making my point better than I did. Even if you had those dogs playing poker, who cares? Art is subjective and so is value. If I am willing to pay $XXX for that painting, then it is worth that much to me. If someone argues value/price I guess my response is, don't buy it for that amount. Buying it online eliminates the intrinsic value of telling the family "that is the painting your dad and I bought on the cruise."

As for jewelry, aren't diamonds a well controlled commodity? We are all getting ripped off when we buy one.

I freely admit to not being even remotely knowledgeable regarding art or diamonds and have never attended one of the art auctions but did peruse the stuff prior to one on our last cruise. While I was looking one of the well dressed ladies approached to discuss the various works of art. Some of the pieces were obviously targeting people trying to find a specific color to match the couch, a gambling piece to put in a game room, or that "special" Thomas Kinkaid-esque cottage/Wyland-esque sea creature painting.

I guess I disagree with most. If someone wants to spend $XXX for an original piece, why not? As long as they do not believe the hype over investment, both art or the DI/Tanzanite junk, then they are paying for the experience and the ability to say, "we bough that on our cruise."